


Santa-Sighting

by FeatheredSparks



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Eve, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, I mean technically it's "Feasting's Eve" but close enough, Just a fun seasonal fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28314498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatheredSparks/pseuds/FeatheredSparks
Summary: When Jas and Vincent decide to take part in the time-honored tradition of staying up on Feasting's Eve to try and catch a glimpse of Santa Claus, it doesn't take long for them to pull their favorite grown-ups into the mix. Their chances of success may be slim to none, but that doesn't mean they can't have some fun with the attempt...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! If anyone here recognizes this fic, it's because I've had it up on fanfiction.net for a while. Thanks to some seasonal-appropriateness related delays, it's actually taken a few years to finish this fic, so I figured I'd hold off on crossposting it until it was finished. That time has finally come, so hope you all enjoy!

It started, as Jas and Vincent's bright ideas often do, with one of Penny's special lessons. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, she had been teaching her tiny class about Feasting traditions undertaken around the world – including those few that were celebrated near-universally.

It wasn't that they weren't already _aware_ of Santa Claus, of course. The stories of the strange winter spirit, or whatever exactly he was, who went around giving gifts to whomever welcomed him on Feasting's Eve were very nearly better known to children than adults. The first part of the lesson had quickly derailed into a discussion of what Jas and Vincent's (and Penny's, once they'd wheedled it out of her) favorite presents from Santa had been, eventually culminating in a shouting match over which of the children's gifts were best that had left their poor teacher threatening to take away five star points each if they did not drop the subject and return to the lesson at hand.

Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, the highlights of that particular class had left the two students with enough of an impression as to present itself as a challenge – and not one which either of them intended to take on alone.

It was too bad that Shane wasn't quite so enamored with challenges.

"So, let me get this straight," he said, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples, "You want to stay up until Yoba-knows-when, on the night before Winter Star, to try and see the crazy wizard who goes around breaking into people's houses all night."

Jas crossed her arms and pouted. "He doesn't _break into_ houses!" she argued. "Miss Penny said he only comes when we invite him in, and why wouldn't we invite him because he gives us presents! And I already asked Aunt Marnie and she invites him here every year, so _there_."

Shane let out a low sigh. _And Yoba only knows why she does_ , he thought dryly to himself.

Out loud he countered with, "Fine, but what about the part where nobody ever actually sees him? Most kids your age eventually get convinced he isn't even _real_ until they get old enough to start asking where the presents come from. What exactly makes you think we'd have any better luck?"

Jas grinned. "That's the fun part! We're gonna stay up all night until he has to come in, and we're gonna be right there in the living room to meet him! And then we'll be the first people to see Santa Claus up close!" She paused for a moment, her face scrunching up in thought, and then added, "Or maybe the second. Vincent's gonna get Sam to stay up with him too, so if Santa visits them first then they'll be the first ones to meet him."

Shane frowned. There were a dozen holes he could poke in her argument – didn't she realize how many people must have tried that before? What if Santa responded to those kinds of slights by just skipping the house? Did she _want_ to be tired all day for the Feast of the Winter Star tomorrow?

All these arguments and more bubbled to the surface of his mind, headed by the very simple fact that he did not want to join her on this futile mission. All he had to say was no, he was going to bed at a reasonable time, and then Jas could do whatever the heck she pleased until she inevitably fell asleep an hour later. Hell, he was her godfather and sort-of-guardian; he could _make_ her go to bed at a proper time so she'd be ready for the feast, and that would be the end of that.

But just as he was debating whether it would be worth the trouble of trying to convince a willful child that it was bedtime, he got a really good look at the expression on her face. There was so much hope there, pure and determined and innocent, and he realized that he couldn't just waltz up and crush that hope.

_It'll get crushed anyway when she fails_ , the cynical part of his brain told him.

For once, and somewhat to his own surprise, he told the cynical part of his brain to stuff it.

"...All right, fine. We can try this plan of yours," he finally said. Reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, he added, "Just don't get your expectations up too high, okay?"

Jas' cheers didn't give any indication that she'd listened to that last warning, but Shane had the gut feeling that that didn't really matter.

* * *

Meanwhile, Vincent was having a significantly easier time getting his chosen partner in crime onboard. Sam listened intently, leaning forward on his elbows as he and Vince sat on the living room couch, while his little brother outlined the... admittedly sparse details of the plan he and Jas had come up with.

"Hmm," he thought out loud, "So we're just gonna stay up and wait for Santa to come by? Do you have any plan B for if he knows how to get around that? Because I gotta tell ya, I've tried this a couple times before and I swear he's got some kind of sleeping spell or something."

Actually, "a couple" wasn't really accurate. More like he'd tried everything he could think of to catch Santa for years, long after most kids had given in and simply accepted that this was a spirit who didn't _want_ to be seen. Nothing had worked, of course. Still, it wouldn't do to discourage the kid. For as fruitless as they were, all those years had been pretty fun.

Vincent squirmed in his seat and offered up a sheepish grin. "Well, that's why Jas and me wanted you and Shane to help. We thought you guys would be better at figuring out all the really clever stuff since you're older and smarter."

Sam smirked. "Oh, yeah? So why am I only hearing this tonight? You've been out of class for a week, and I remember Penny talking about what happened when she brought up the old spirit even before then."

Vincent didn't seem to catch the reminder of his argument with Jas, and just puffed up with pride. "That's because we remembered how Santa _knows_ things, so we couldn't talk about it a lot until today. It's safe to tell you now 'cause he's busy getting ready to go around the world, so he won't be paying attention," he said matter-of-factly.

Sam grinned. "Well, sounds like you two planned for more than you thought." _Whether a way to actually convince Shane to join was part of it, I have no idea_ , he thought to himself, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He stood up and clapped his hands.

"All right, I'm in. Come on; there's a couple things we need to get ready before Mom gets back with dinner, and first on the list is to call in the cavalry."

Vincent cocked his head. "The cavalry? What are you talking about?"

Sam grabbed his phone and started scrolling through his contacts. "Abigail."

* * *

Few things caught Abigail's attention more than a good supernatural mystery, and it didn't get a whole lot more mysterious than Santa Claus. There was considerable debate over whether he was a light spirit or just a powerful magician (she personally believed the former, but then again, she was biased), how he knew what kinds of gifts would be best suited to their recipients, and even whether it was truly just a singular "he" who flew through Feasting's Eve night. There were myths upon legends of how the being came to be and why he had begun his eternal quest of generosity, and the only evidence of what he looked like or how he traveled came from lucky sky sightings over the years and a handful of photographs taken from equally far away.

It was only natural that curious people wanted to catch a real, up-close sight of him, even if those people were typically children. Abigail must have set up at least a half-dozen scenarios with her friends over the years: faked sleeping, noise traps, an _actual_ trap at one point (that last one had been rather memorable, but only because it had managed to catch her father when he'd gone out for a midnight snack and earned her a thorough grounding). Sebastian had been the first to give up on the mystery, and for a few years the honorable tradition of Santa-sighting had fallen to Abigail and Sam alone. It had been one of the few things the two of them did together without Sebastian in the mix, and when they'd grown up and gotten busy with other projects, the loss of that tradition had upset her more than she let on.

Needless to say, it hadn't been hard to make her choice when Sam texted her with his brother's proposal on Feasting's Eve.

_Do u even need to ask? Hell yeah im in!_ she tapped out rapidly, making her way from her bedroom to the storefront. _Give me a sec, ill tell the parents and then we can start planning._

"Dad?" she called out as she poked her head through the doorway. "I'm gonna head to Sam's and we'll be out late, okay?"

Pierre looked up from where he was tidying the front counter; he'd already closed for the evening. He frowned. "On Feasting's Eve? We were just about to have dinner."

Abigail clicked her tongue. "After dinner, then. It's not like we have any plans after that, and I'll be back before Winter Star tomorrow. So it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Her father seemed to be considering it, but then her mother came up behind them. "Where are you going after dinner?"

Abigail steeled herself as she turned to face her. Caroline would be the harder of the two to convince.

"Just Sam's," she replied breezily. "We're going Santa-sighting."

Caroline cocked an eyebrow. "Santa-sighting? Aren't you a little old for that?" Her mouth twisted into a frown as she added, "And I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out so late at a young man's house."

Abigail was ready with a retort until that second statement hit. She recoiled at what her mother was suggesting and let out a loud groan. "Oh my _god_ Mom, we're hunting for a _spirit_ with his _brother_. You know, the seven-year-old kid?" What exactly did she think Abigail and her friends got up to, anyway? Actually, scratch that – she had a pretty good idea, and really didn't need it confirmed.

Caroline just shook her head. "I'm sorry honey, but I'm going to have to say no. You can stay up as late as you like, but you're doing it here. I don't want you falling asleep at his house like last time."

Abigail opened her mouth to argue her case again, but her mom had already started heading back to the kitchen. She huffed. And thus, the mother had spoken, and thus it was, apparently. In a last-ditch effort, she turned a pleading gaze on her father.

Pierre just blinked back at her and shrugged. "Sorry, Abby. I can't just go around your mom's word, and she's kind of got a point."

Abigail groaned again and turned on her heel to return to her room. She pulled out her phone to start texting Sam again.

_Change of plans. Mom wont let me go out tonight so we gotta do this separate. I say we keep in contact to keep each other up, use 2 houses to our advantage._

She didn't have to wait long for a reply. _Well that sucks :( 2 houses thing could work though... Any security cams or anything in your dad's store?_

Abigail felt a little smile quirk at the side of her mouth as she settled in to plan. It really did feel good to be doing this again, whatever anyone said about her age.

This year, that long-coveted encounter with Santa Claus was going to be _hers_.


	2. Chapter 2

8:30 PM

Vincent's face scrunched up in confusion as he watched his brother rummage through the family fridge.

"Why do we need drinks to see Santa Claus?" he asked.

Sam pushed aside a carton of eggnog. "Caffeine," he replied without turning. "Keeps you awake, and trust me, we're gonna need help with that. I coulda sworn I had some – aha!"

Reaching in with both hands, he managed to grab three cans of Joja Cola. He pulled them out carefully and closed the fridge door behind him.

Vincent wrinkled his nose. " _Eww_ , that stuff is all bubbly and weird. And Mom says it's not good for you."

Sam stuck his tongue out at his brother as he set the cans on the counter. "Says the kid who needs a daily maximum of gummies or else he eats himself sick. 'Sides, this is a special occasion."

Vincent huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm still not drinking it, soda's gross."

Sam smirked and ruffled Vincent's hair. "Never said you had to, kiddo. I've got something else for you."

With that he turned to the pantry and began a new search. This one only took him a moment before he found his prize: a box of hot cocoa mix. He extracted it with a triumphant flourish.

Vincent's eyes lit up, and he ran over to grab the box. "Aw yeah, this is _way_ better than soda!" he cried, bouncing a little as he ripped the box open and fished a packet out.

Sam just smirked again and leaned back against the counter. This kid was so easy to please. It was kind of adorable.

He frowned thoughtfully as he looked around the kitchen. Would soda and hot chocolate be enough? He could probably manage to scrounge up a few sweets, but his mom would kill him if he overdid it and sent Vince on a screaming sugar rush.

Would Vincent notice if he got himself a cup of cocoa and added coffee to it? That was one of the tricks he'd picked up from Abigail way back when, and it had helped a little.

With that thought turning over in his head, he decided it was a good time to check in with her.

8:37

Abigail chewed her tongue in concentration and tried to steady herself on the ladder wobbling underneath her feet. Her balance restored, she reached up again to get a better look at the security camera in the corner.

This wasn't the first time she and Sam had considered this option, but it had been a few years and she was pretty sure her dad had switched to new cams since then. She felt around the base, searching for a way to get the thing down or at least point it in a more useful direction. No dice on the former, but maybe if she could get it turned to face the window…?

A chiptune jingle suddenly sounded from her pocket, and she reached down to grab her phone. A quick glance at the screen told her that Sam was trying to start a video call, so she descended a couple of steps and took a seat on the ladder before moving to answer.

"Yo," she said in greeting as Sam and Vincent's faces appeared on the screen. Vince was sitting on the kitchen counter behind his brother, legs swinging as he drank something from a steaming mug.

Sam grinned. "Hey Abbs. Any luck on your end yet?"

Abigail frowned and turned her phone to show off the security cam above her. "Not unless Santa decides to do some late-night shopping. These are the only cameras I can find, and there isn't a lot I can do with them."

Sam rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Yeah, we don't have anything that can be left running either. Looks like we'll be going low-tech this year." He smiled again. "You remember extreme cocoa?"

Abigail processed that for a moment, and then barked out a laugh. "Extreme cocoa! I totally forgot about that!" She hopped down from the ladder and added, "Honestly, I just swiped a couple Green Serpent energy drinks from Dad's backstock."

A thought occurred to her, and she paused and squinted suspiciously at Vincent through the screen. "…You didn't give extreme cocoa to the hyperactive kid, did you?"

Vincent looked up from his mug to stick his tongue out at her. " _Coffee_. Is gross," he declared with a sharp nod as though passing along a piece of sage wisdom, before returning to his drink.

Sam glanced behind him and snorted. "Yeah, and lucky thing too or that woulda been a death sentence. He's just got regular hot chocolate."

Vincent looked up and stuck his tongue out again, this time crossing his eyes for good measure.

Abigail was barely paying attention at this point, though. She still watched the screen, but now her focus shifted back and forth between the image itself and the little camera just above, the gears in her head turning.

"Hey, what if we use our _phones_ to try and record the big guy?"

Sam perked up at the suggestion, but then he frowned. "Maybe, but I think they would run out of memory space pretty quick if we just left them running."

Abigail hummed in thought. "We could save it till after midnight, when we're more at risk for falling asleep. Or just keep video chat up? That way if one of us goes, the other might still catch a look through the feed."

Vincent piped up then, jumping down from the counter. "We can hide them in the Winter Star tree!"

Abigail grinned. "I like the way you think, kid. Now the question is how to angle them…"

The conversation continued as she made her way into the house proper to set up, completely forgetting the ladder still up against the corner.

9:02

Flashing colors lit up Shane's face as he stared intently at the screen before him. He was _almost_ to the end of the level, but this stupid bug hanging out by the last pit always got him. If he could just…

With a couple of careful hops, he managed to clear both the pit and the bug. He let out the breath he'd been holding… only for another bug to walk right into him and knock him out of the level.

Shane snarled in frustration and bit back a curse that would definitely have been heard in the next room. Deciding he was done with this nonsense, he shut off the game and started setting up his Code Sultan.

"Whatcha doing?"

Shane paused and craned his head to find Jas leaning over his shoulder, munching on a cookie. He let his hand drop.

"What's it look like? I'm playing a game."

Jas hummed in thought and squinted at the screen.

"But this is _your_ room. You should bring it outside so we can watch for Santa while you're playing!"

Shane snorted in amusement and turned the game back on, ignoring his cheats for the time being. "Santa won't be here for hours. We've got time to kill."

Jas let out a small huff. "I guess." She watched him play silently for a few moments, but then all at once the remaining half of her cookie was shoved under his nose.

"Want one? Aunt Marnie made them freeesh."

Shane paused his game again and looked down at the proffered treat. Well, it was going to be a long night and he couldn't exactly down a beer with the kid watching him…

"…Sure. Cookie me."

Jas giggled at the comment and ran out the door while he got back to his game. After a minute or two, she ran back in with a small plate piled high with the things.

"Hey, I have an idea! We can do a multiplayer game with Vincent and Sam, and then we can all help each other stay up!"

Completely absorbed in the game, Shane just made a noncommittal grunt. The suggestion finally caught up with him, though, when she grabbed his phone and started scrolling through the contacts.

"Wait, no –!"

But Jas had already found Sam's number and hit the button. Shane let out a defeated sigh. _We should swap numbers, he said. It'll help with work stuff, he said_.

"Hello, Sam!" Jas chirped into the line. "Oh! Wait one second please, I'm going to put it on speaker."

Shane just glared at her as she set the phone down and mouthed _You know I like singleplayer_ , but if she caught what he was saying she didn't show it.

"Hi Jas! Hi Mr. Shane!" Vincent's voice called out through the speaker.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

Jas sat cross-legged in front of the phone. "Shane was just playing a video game and we thought we could do something all together to help stay up tonight! Right, Shane?"

She turned her expectant gaze on him, and after holding out for a few stubborn moments he finally sighed in defeat.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Oh! Sure thing!" Sam replied. "You got Block Buster? I've got a server, and Abby's staying up too so she can play with us."

Shane perked up at that idea. "Survivor or Creative mode?"

"Dude, whatever we feel like. You want to build a mighty fortress and then see how it fares against the zombie apocalypse? I can make it happen."

Shane grinned. This might actually be fun. "Bring it on."

10:35

Abigail sat cross-legged with her laptop balanced on her knees and her back against the far wall. She swirled her mouse in circles, watching her character spin in place and trying to imagine how much longer it would take before the poor avatar had to run off some place to hurl.

Glancing down at the computer's clock, she called out, "Okay, time! Everyone, put away the blocks and step away from your masterpieces."

With that, she walked her character out from behind the 'judge's wall' she had erected for the occasion. She clapped her hands.

"Okay! The theme this round was 'Death from Above,' so I want to see what you did to defend your fortresses from flying serpents, winged zombies and the inevitable Pigeon Revolution. Sam, Vince, you're up first."

Sam's avatar was nowhere to be seen, but a moment after Abigail spoke, he made a dramatic exit from the steel door at his building's front.

"Behold, the Fortress of Unyielding Earth!" he declared, leading the group along said fortress' outer wall. "Observe the iridium-reinforced stonework and the thick steel barring on every window, a guarantee that all pigeon-based stealth missions will fail before they start. Feast your eyes upon the ballistae in the upper reaches, all strategically placed to defend our mighty castle in its time of need."

"I wanted to put laser turrets there," Vincent piped in, "But Sam said we didn't have enough time to make them convincing."

Abigail made appropriate humming noises as she took in the iridium dust decorating the outer walls and the rooftop constructions in the crude shape of ballistae. "Mm, yes, very good. Anything else?"

Barely contained laughter sounded from Sam's end of the connection, and as he continued to speak his voice swelled with mock gravitas. "Of course! You see, while I was finishing up the outer reinforcements, Vincent got to work on taming SEVERAL HUNDRED BATS to meet our airborne foe!"

"Behold!" Vincent cried, flipping a lever on the castle rooftop. A hidden trapdoor opened, and in seconds a dozen pixelated bats had poured out to flap around above the group. It was a good show, and Abigail was pretty sure she heard Jas whisper "Whoa," over the mic.

Abigail grinned. "Not bad, not bad. Though I must admit, I'm doubtful as to how well mere bats would fare against winged serpents."

"They're _very_ well-trained bats," Vincent insisted.

"Mm-hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind. Okay, Shane and Jas, you're up."

"All right. This way then," Shane said, leading them down from the current fortress. Abigail frowned thoughtfully as they walked; she hadn't seen any more than the one construction. What was Shane trying to pull?

The five of them stopped at a hill by an empty field. "Okay," Shane started, "so since our main concerns are coming from the sky, I figured, why leave any risks open? No matter how much you reinforce them, windows and doors are still a liability. But you know what flying foes aren't gonna be built for? Digging."

With that, he walked around a couple of trees and disappeared into what Abigail now realized was a hidden opening. The others followed to find him standing in front of a button.

"And so it is that Jas and I present to you… The Bunker."

With a push of the button, another hidden door opened – this time leading downward. Sam hummed his approval, and Vincent muttered, "So _that's_ where he disappeared to."

Shane led the group down into the bunker, which took little time as it was pretty plainly built. "As you can see," he said, "everything down here is good solid stone and the benefit of location. I focused most of my reinforcements on the roof and upper walls, but even that was more of an extra measure because of what Jas made."

Abigail smirked. "Oh? And what's that?"

"This way!" Jas piped in, making for the entrance again. Everyone but her climbed back out the hole and crowded around the hill, while Jas herself got into position next to another semi-concealed switch in the hall.

"You're welcome to head out a ways, stretch your legs, if you want," Shane said. His voice carried a rare note of mischief, though, and he stayed where he was.

Abigail wisely decided to stay put as well, and Vincent and Sam looked around at them.

"Nobody?" Shane goaded.

Sam let out a low sigh. "I am definitely going to regret this," he muttered before stepping out into the open field.

"Now?" Jas called up.

"Go for it!"

All at once, the ground above the bunker fell away to reveal a shallow pit underneath. A massive pool of molten lava lit up the entire area, and steel fence posts that Abigail guessed were meant to be spikes dotted the area.

"Waah!" Sam cried out as his character fell into the lava. "Shhhh- _Shane_!"

"Thank you for volunteering to test the lava pit," Shane replied casually, while Sam's avatar burned up behind him and disappeared to the respawn point. "As you can see, Abigail, it is a very effective deterrent against intruders."

Abigail was busy trying to hold back laughter. She had to remain the stoic judge, after all. "I can see that," she finally choked out in a half-even voice.

"That is the _last_ time I turn Creative mode off for judging," Sam muttered as he rejoined the party, but even his voice betrayed amusement.

Abigail cleared her throat. "Okay, I've come to a decision. Your fortresses were both very well thought out in their defenses against the oncoming pigeons, but I have to admit it's hard to beat a lava bunker. Shane, Jas, you win this round."

Amid the ensuing chorus of cheers and groans, she placed her laptop to the side and stretched. "Anyway, I need to get my stakeout spot ready. You guys do whatever, I'll check in later."

"Yeah, it's getting to be that time. We should get ready too," Sam added in.

"Bye, everyone!" Jas chirped.

Abigail couldn't help but grin as she logged out of the game.

10:52

Shane was leaned back on the couch and messing with his own Block Buster game when Jas trotted up to him, an armful of blankets in tow.

"It's time for us to build our fort!" she said, holding up the blankets for emphasis.

Shane looked over the collection skeptically. "I dunno, wouldn't lying down in a fort just make it easier to fall asleep?"

That gave Jas pause, but the gears in his head were already turning. After scanning the room for a few moments, he picked out a serviceable corner and pointed to it.

"Why don't we put a couple high-backed chairs over there, and then take…" He paused to rummage through the pile, and picked out a thin sheet through which he could make out faint, shadowed shapes, "this sheet and use it as a screen? It'll serve the same purpose but give us more room."

Jas perked up at that, and immediately rushed off to grab the chairs. Shane smirked and swung his legs over the edge of the couch – it seemed they had work to do.

11:34

Vincent had finally run out of steam and conked out, but Sam figured that was okay. He intended to wake the kid up and see if he wanted to give it another go, but for now, he could use some rest.

For Sam's own part, he was still wide awake. Mostly because the cookies were burning.

Sam sucked in a hiss and opened a window to waft out the smell before it set off a smoke alarm. He'd pulled the cookies out of the oven as soon as he'd caught on, but he was pretty sure it was too late for them.

Ugh, and he'd thought he could at _least_ handle a premade mix. They were double chocolate, too – his and Vince's favorites, and the color made it hard to tell how badly they were burnt and if any were still salvageable. This was why he hated cooking.

Well, at least the smell was starting to dissipate. He let out a huff and leaned onto the counter, drumming his fingertips on the surface.

A dramatic riff signaled that he'd gotten a text, and he took a look at his phone.

_Eyyy howz the santa thing goin put up ur fone thing_

Sam stared at the text for several seconds, frowning as he double checked the name attached to it. Shaking his head, he called up Abigail.

"Abby, how night drunk _are_ you?"

He could practically hear her grinning. "I found out we have espresso! It makes extreme cocoa _way_ more extreme!"

Sam frowned again in concern. "Please tell me you didn't also add in the energy drinks."

A snort. "Don't worry _Mom_ , I'm fine. And that sounds like a disgusting combination." She let out a dramatic groan. "Uggh, I just wish he'd _get here_ already. Which is why you need to set up your phone thing like we planned!"

She promptly cut the line at that, and Sam blinked. This was the last time, he decided, that he was gonna let Abigail do Santa Sighting by herself.

Glancing over at the charred cookies, he decided that was probably best for _both_ of them.

12:20

Somewhere along the line, Shane had fallen asleep. He discovered this quite suddenly when he was awoken by the hard _whap_ of a pillow to the face.

Groaning, he sat up and looked blearily at the clock, then over at Jas. "How are you still awake?"

Jas frowned, still clutching the pillow tightly. "We fell asleep, but then Vincent called and woke me up! Sam made them chocolate cookies to keep them up, and since Marnie's cookies from earlier are all gone I thought we could make more and try the same thing."

Shane yawned, stretching. "Using sweets to stay awake? Heh, Sam and Abigail are wusses is that's all they've got."

With that, he stumbled off of the makeshift pillow-cushion they'd set up behind their screen. Jas wrinkled her nose and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shane smirked back at her. "I just think we'd get farther with a little more… _bite_. You ever try pepper poppers before?"

1:09

Abigail shook her head in a desperate effort to stay awake.

It was dumb, really. She had been up much later than this before, but the stupid espresso had left her with a caffeine crash and she didn't have the stomach to try again.

It didn't help that her setup left little room to set up any more games or talk to the others. She had managed to tuck herself into a nice hidden corner behind the family's Tree of the Winter Star, but every shift she made bumped her up dangerously against branches and ornaments, and there was no room to bring in anything but a book and a small plate of treats.

Without changing position, she craned her neck to check on her camera setup again. Her phone was tucked carefully into the tree's branches, plugged in to keep the battery from draining. She still wasn't sure how long it would last, but she'd run out of other options.

Not knowing what else to do, she looked back down at her book. It was an old favorite, a tale of haunted castles and epic battles, but that might have been the problem. It was exciting, sure, but it was _too_ familiar – too easy to drift away from words that were starting to blend together and imagine the grand swordfights and dark intrigue in a mind's eye that couldn't help but call to mind a dream.

Abigail sighed and set the book down, laying her chin on its pages. Perhaps if she rested for just a moment, it would give her the energy to keep going. She had her plan B going if it didn't, but it would be nice to avoid the slow pull of…

Sleep…

Just a little bit…


	3. Chapter 3

Shane couldn't begin to guess what time it was when something awoke him from behind his and Jas' makeshift screen. He was positioned awkwardly, half slouched over with an arm draped over a wooden crate, and he groaned as he stretched protesting muscles. He remembered tucking Jas into bed… some time ago, when she had finally given out and fallen asleep, and he silently cursed himself for trying to keep up the vigil instead of just calling it a night and turning into his own warm bed.

A shuffling sound caught his ear, and he froze. He hadn't noticed it before in the darkness and that haze between sleep and wakefulness, but there was someone moving on the other side of the sheet. Someone much bigger than Jas.

On high alert now, Shane grabbed the flashlight he'd been keeping handy and brandished it like a weapon. He silently crept to the edge, peeked around the corner of the sheet, and –

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me."

To his credit, the red-suited intruder didn't start or panic at the sound – merely turned around as casually as though he'd been expecting Shane. "Why would I be?" he asked. "I was invited in, wasn't I?"

Shane snorted and held the flashlight in front of him, heavy end pointed forward. "Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe I just _happened_ to wake up and stumble upon the famously-elusive Santa Claus. I'm guessin' you don't want a fight if you're playing the dress-up trick, so I'm going to give you a chance to leave quietly and forget this ever happened."

The man held out his arms. "No trick, on my honor. Would you like proof? Shane Saunders, nephew of this fine establishment's owner and godfather of young Jas, has a fondness for requesting some rather questionable gifts, recently took a liking to the young hen named "Charlie." His white whiskers curved up in a knowing smile. "Or you could just look outside."

Shane's eyes narrowed, but without ever taking his gaze completely off the intruder, he turned to glance out the window. What he saw stole all his attention away, so dumbfounded that he dropped his flashlight with a clatter.

It was like the world outside had just… _stopped_. The flakes of a light snowfall that had picked up sometime during the night were suspended in mid-air, and some sort of night creature, just visible in the moonlight, seemed frozen in place.

"Ooookay, that settles it. I am _absolutely_ dreaming. I spent half the night looking out for Santa, so now I'm dreaming about it."

The other man let out a low chuckle. "Perhaps. But how do you think I manage to travel the world in a single night?"

Shane just shook his head. "Right. So, just for funsies, why me? All these years of people trying to catch a good look at you, and for some reason I'm the one you just forget to stop time for?"

The man – Santa, or his dream's conjured version of Santa, or whatever he was supposed to be – gave him another one of those knowing smiles. "The simple answer? It's not just you. Think back for a moment: surely, you've heard the odd stories of people who claimed to see me, only to dismiss them as just another hoax. How can you be certain they all were?" He crossed his arms. "And that only counts those who even said anything. You have already decided that you're dreaming, after all."

Shane folded his arms as well, leaning back against the wall. "And the complicated answer?"

The man chuckled. "The same reason everyone keeps their Feasting gifts a secret until they're given. A little harmless mystery is good now and again." He let out a thoughtful sigh.

"Over time, I've come to find that most of the people looking for me get more out of the hunt than the catch. It's remarkable how creative children – and those adults who stay interested – can be when they're trying to crack an impossible riddle. But, of course, everybody's a bit different.

"Your friends and your goddaughter are all learning and growing, if in different ways. They, like so many others, need chances like this to just have fun, spend time together, and realize that failure isn't always a bad thing. But _you_ , Shane – you need something to believe in. A miracle, an odd chance, a quirk of the stranger sciences, whatever you want to call it. Even if all it leads to is the idea that you may or may not have been one of the few to see something special."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "You know, telling me all this really feels like it's defeating the purpose."

Santa gave him another knowing smile. "I'm not so sure of that. You wouldn't have been satisfied without an explanation."

After a moment's pause, he snapped his fingers and turned to rummage through his bag. It was the first time Shane noticed that he had a bag, and now that he looked, he could see a trio of new gifts under the ranch's Winter Star tree.

"Here. I know it's not much of a traditional Feasting gift, but I think that, in time, you will come to appreciate it."

As he said that, the man straightened up and tossed a small object to Shane. He caught it easily enough, and looked down to see it was a bottle of –

"Sparkling water?" He frowned as he rolled the bottle over in his hands. "What am I supposed to do with –"

But as he looked up to address his visitor again, he found that he was the only one in the room.

* * *

The Feast of the Winter Star dawned cold and crisp, and after the morning's mild Santa-sighting related disappointment was swept away by a delicious breakfast, a round of family gift exchange and even a short video call with their dad abroad, Sam's family made their way to the town square and the main party.

Pelican Town was abuzz with activity, and even before the feast began, folks were off giving last-minute gifts or admiring the décor or gossiping about the latest drama between Pierre and Morris and what that guy who was moving onto the old farm next Spring might be like. It wasn't long before Vincent and Jas ran off together to play in the snow, Mom calling after them not to stray from where she could see them.

Sam had already exchanged gifts with his friends a few days before, so he just had to find his "secret friend" Leah and surprise her with her present. (He'd found a nice sketching set that he thought she could use; she loved it.) After taking care of that, he found himself wandering – just taking in the festive atmosphere and the sheer joyful energy of the holiday. The grand Tree of the Winter Star in the square's center was beautiful as always, and the food that Gus, Emily and the mayor were starting to set out made his mouth water by the sight alone.

By chance, he found himself at a table that Shane seemed to have claimed a few seats from for his family. The older man lacked his perpetual grumpy frown for once, but he seemed almost distracted as he absently twirled a half-drank bottle of sparkling water between one hand and the table's surface.

Sam grinned as he approached. "Hey. So, Jas said you two didn't have any luck last night either?"

Shane started and looked up. "Huh? Oh, nah. Both fell asleep." He glanced over at where the kids were building a slightly lopsided-looking snowman. "I _told_ her that would happen, but she doesn't look too beat up about it at least."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. You know, at this point I think Santa-sighting is more about how you try it than actually succeeding. Like, a journey verses destination thing, right?"

Shane snorted and started, "Now you just sound like –" before cutting himself off with an almost audible snap.

Sam frowned thoughtfully and raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"

Shane just shook his head and looked down at his water bottle again. (Why did he even have that? Maybe Marnie had forbidden him from overdoing the nog or something.)

"It's… nothing. Just a really weird dream I had last night," he said absently.

Before Sam could come up with a response to that, a flash of purple obscured his vision as Abigail tackle-hugged him from the side.

"Happy Feasting!" she practically yelled in his ear, and the next thing he knew, a small gift box had been shoved in his hands. Abigail stepped back and folded her arms, an eager grin on her face and a Santa hat perched jauntily on her head.

"Turns out I was your secret gift-giver this year. Surprised? I swear, the spirits have our stars aligned this season or something."

As Sam thanked her and tore into the packaging, she turned to Shane with a wave. "Hey Shane. Any luck with Big Red last night?"

Shane shrugged noncommittally, but she didn't miss the little smile at the corner of his lip. "What do you think?" he asked.

Abigail let out a huff. "Damn. I thought we might have had him this time. I swear, the _one_ night of the year I can't pull an all-nighter…"

Shane just shrugged again. "Next year, then?"

Both of the younger adults paused and looked over at his suggestion. Sam grinned and said, "Jas really did get you in the spirit, didn't she?"

For her part, Abigail just chuckled. After a moment she hooked an elbow around Sam's to start dragging him off. "Hey, c'mon, I think our families are sitting together and I don't want to miss any spiced cider."

Sam blinked as she pulled him away. "You didn't even give me time to admire your gift."

"You'll have plenty of time for that. _Now_ , it is time for hot apple cider and planning next year's operation."

Even Abigail had to admit, as she and her friend walked side by side to their families' shared table, that she was maybe starting to go a little overboard with all of this. But she couldn't help it – even if this year hadn't gone quite as planned, just getting to try Santa-sighting again gave her an energy that she couldn't entirely explain. It was a mystery, a challenge, an adventure, and now that she had Sam's brother and Shane's goddaughter as an excuse to get back into it, she looked forward to trying it again with a little more time to plan. Heck, with the way she was feeling right now, she didn't see why she had to wait till next Winter Star for another adventure – maybe this would be the year when she'd finally brave those mines north of town.

In the meantime, though, it was time for family and friends and thankfulness and all that other sap her mom liked to talk about come Feasting time. And honestly? That was okay with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic came about because I was thinking about Christmas movies that feature Santa and how they so often involve adults not believing in him, which... doesn't make a lot of sense, if you think about it (thus Shane's comment about kids only disbelieving for a little bit until they realize those presents have to come from somewhere, if it isn't the parents). I wanted to make a story in which Santa Claus is a totally normal and accepted thing as seen through adult eyes, and when I realized that the little Santa flying overhead on Stardew's Winter 24 night screen means he must be around in the game world, I knew I had my setting.
> 
> Despite the delays, this has been a lot of fun to write, and I hope it's been just as fun for all of you to read. Happy Feast of the Winter Star everyone ;)


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